


The Next Stage of the Inevitable

by windire



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Established Relationship, Future Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-27
Updated: 2016-05-10
Packaged: 2018-06-04 21:00:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6675283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/windire/pseuds/windire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Jesus, Robert," Aaron says. "Would you stop ruining people's lives?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not going to lie; I loved every minute of writing this. 
> 
> Currently, I'm thinking of writing two more parts, but I'm not making any promises. We'll see how it goes and how chatty the boys get.
> 
> If you spot any errors (or have anything else to say, anything at all!) please leave a comment or contact me. Enjoy!

"Sugden!"

There's banging at the door, and the mattress dips as Aaron gets up. Robert stirs, uncomprehending, but it isn't until there's the sound of glass shattering that he's actually awake. 

Aaron is muttering under his breath, a formidable litany of swearwords, as he pulls on the nearest tracksuit bottoms and disappears through the bedroom door. Robert can hear him take two steps down the stairs at a time. 

Groggy, Robert rolls over and pushes at the sheets, rising up onto his elbows so he can peer out of the window. There's a bloke stumbling away from their house at an impressive speed in the pre-dawn light. Based on his uneven stride, Robert wagers the bloke is drunk. After a few heartbeats, Robert can see Aaron, topless but wearing trainers at least, come out of the house and take off after him. Aaron is a fast runner, and by the time they disappear down the road from Robert's sight, Aaron looks like he's going to catch up. Robert blinks, rubs his eyes, and painfully forces himself out of bed. 

Downstairs, he comes face-to-face with an unsavoury sight; someone has thrown a rock through their window. Dressed only in his robe, Robert purses his lips in displeasure and goes to put the kettle on. 

By the time Aaron comes back, Robert has put his shoes on and is picking up the biggest shards of glass into the bin. Aaron stands there in the open doorway, hands on his hips, out of breath and fuming. 

"What happened?" Robert asks, setting a glass shard the size of his palm gently into the bin.

"Lover of yours?" Aaron says, and it could be a joke, but there's too much bite in it. 

That is completely unfair, because that was just the _one time_ at a bar, and Aaron was urging him on, and nothing ever happened other than that one kiss. It is completely unfair that Aaron hasn't let it go. He wouldn't even have done it without Aaron's encouragement.

"No," Robert says, a little hurt. He turns his attention back to the glass scattered all over their hallway. "What makes you think I have anything to do with this?"

"Well," Aaron says, "he was shouting your name when he _threw a rock through our window_." His eyes are doing that thing where they look so angry they might pop out of their sockets if he's pressed any further.

Robert looks back up. "You didn't catch him?" 

"Disappeared into thin air." Aaron huffs. "Muppet."

"You think he'll be back?" 

It's obviously the wrong thing to say. If possible, Aaron looks even angrier, towering shirtless in the doorway over Robert's hunched form. "How should I know? No one's ever put rocks through our windows shouting _my_ name, and I'm a _Dingle_." 

It's a good point. Neither of them is pig-headed enough to pretend that the Dingles are any sort of respectable family, as a whole. It doesn't matter. Aaron loves his name. They've never talked about it but they both know it. 

Robert sighs, sits back on his heels, leaves the glass. "Okay. I could hazard a guess." His e-mail inbox has been filling up with hate mail recently. He's always got plenty, but it's been different lately, evolving. "There's this bloke who lost out on some business, and he thinks it's because of me." 

"And you're innocent," Aaron says slowly, the tilt in his head saying he's not buying a word. 

Robert spreads his hands, trying to find the right words. He's given up on lying to Aaron – at least, he's saving it for the end-of-days kind of situations, of which their fortunately haven't been many in the last couple of years. "My client was a multinational corporation, and for some reason, their only supplier in the area was this one bloke. So I did what I do; I put them in touch with some more profitable suppliers, and..."

"And?"

"And it turns out, my multinational corporation was his biggest client and he went bankrupt." 

Aaron's eyes roll, but he finally takes a step inside, glass screeching under his trainers, and closes the door behind him. He leans back against it and rubs his face with both hands. The tension in his shoulders, the look on his face, it all gives a strange impression: half-resigned, half-angry. Like he knows better than to expect anything else but can't give into the resignation; like without his anger, he'd be lost. He's clinging to the anger like he needs it. 

Robert supposes it's a good thing. A healthy thing. Aaron is stronger when he's angry – particularly so when the anger is directed outwards. 

"Jesus, Robert," Aaron says. "Would you stop ruining people's lives?" He sidesteps most of the glass, opens a closet and rifles through it, picking up a shirt from the laundry basket and eyeing it critically. Apparently satisfied with its state, he pulls it on. 

"Where are you going now?" 

It's arse o'clock on a Saturday morning. It's barely light out. 

"Work, aren't I?" Aaron says, giving Robert the evil eye. He pulls on a jacket.

"But it's Saturday," says Robert, who'd been thinking about a leisurely breakfast and maybe some leisurely sex, too. 

Aaron pauses, leans in. He looks pointedly at all the glass on the floor. "Well, I can't be arsed to bother with this, now, can I?" he says, and leaves, slamming the door shut behind him so forcefully that one more glass shard drops from the window frame onto the floor, shattering.

* * *

It's just as well Aaron's gone to the scrapyard, because only half an hour later Robert gets a call from a client in Los Angeles and decides he might as well work, too. This is so far outside of his usual work hours that he can charge double. It's a minor thing, in the end, a shipment stuck in customs at Heathrow, and it only takes him twenty minutes to locate someone who can deal with it locally. Once that's done, Robert figures his unexpectedly empty Saturday morning is best spent doing some more work, and starts going through his e-mail. 

Robert set up his own business a few years ago, when he was, for all intents and purposes, unemployed and living with his sister: a complete loser. He figured he could do what he's always done best – figuring out what people were doing wrong and telling it to their face – and charge them for it. It had been a hobby of his when he'd been working for Lawrence, looking at partner companies as well as their rivals and seeing where there was room for improvement. It is a corporate kind of self-awareness; probably the only kind Robert is any good at. 

Mostly, his work is in Word documents and Excel sheets, phone calls and Skype calls and e-mails, but he does travel a fair bit. He went international from the start, figuring the only way he could make this work without having to leave Emmerdale Village permanently was if he could do it all remotely. He tries to keep travelling to a minimum and time it so that Liv is at home when he's away. 

Liv has been, unsurprisingly, more keen to go visit her mum lately. The older she gets, the more attractive Dublin becomes. Robert thinks that, sooner or later, she'll want to move there for good. He sort of wants it to be sooner, because he can't wait to have Aaron all to himself, but he's also dreading it, because Aaron will be heartbroken. Aaron loves his sister. It's possible he loves that brat more than he loves Robert. Robert doesn't like thinking about it. 

Because this is Robert, by noon he's got two blokes fixing the window. He stands on the lawn, observing, as he drinks his tea and lets his mind wander over the details of his newest disaster of a client. The documents he's been sent tell a sad story of a company about to go under before the end of the year, unless he can perform actual magic. He's going to try.

"Hey, mate!" Adam calls from the street, and Robert turns around. Adam is looking like his usual scruffy self with his mop of curls and dark beard, hands in the pockets of his jeans. "Is Aaron in?" 

Robert takes a moment to gnaw at his lip and glance heavenwards. "Um, no," he says. "He went to the scrapyard." 

"What? But it's Saturday. We had plans," Adam says. His gaze pingpongs between Robert and the men working on the window. "What's happened here?" 

Sighing, Robert says, "An accident." 

"Are you two fighting again?"

"No." 

"So I don't have to go see him at the scrapyard to make sure he hasn't put his hand through any windows?" 

"What? No!" Robert clings to his mug of tea with both hands, the wind wreaking havoc in his hair. "Someone threw a rock through our window. Aaron didn't want to deal with the mess, so he went to the scrapyard." 

"Hmm," Adam says, eyes narrowing. He looks unimpressed. 

"What? I'm fixing it!" 

Robert has tried very hard to hate Adam, this undeserving scally who _stole Robert's sister and married her_ , but it's difficult. Vic loves him, and for all his faults, he seems to be the kind of best mate that Aaron so desperately needs. It's a comfort to know that every time Robert and Aaron have a row and Aaron fails to come home in the evening, it's only because he's with Adam and Vic and they are taking care of him. Adam knows sides of Aaron that Robert has never been privy to, and he seems to be the one who always sends Aaron home in the morning to work things out with Robert. 

Adam doesn't hate Robert, which is astonishing. Even more than that: he seems to think Robert is good for Aaron. It makes hating him very difficult, no matter how annoying he sometimes gets. 

"Yeah? Well, you better be," Adam says, and he's clearly spent too much time with Vic, because only she is capable of that kind of indignation. It's rubbed off on him.

Robert shrugs and sighs in resignation. "Will you just bring him home? Tell him the window is fixed and there's beer in the fridge." 

Adam huffs, but he seems to have lost his edge. "No promises," he calls, not unkindly, and walks away. 

Robert rubs at his forehead, trying to fend off the headache building inside his skull. He just wants to get this weekend back on track so that his Sunday won't be ruined, too. He just wants Aaron home.

* * *

Adam comes back eventually with a sullen-looking Aaron in tow. Robert breathes out, offers them beers and sits down with them to watch a game of footie. After watching Adam and Aaron have a laugh together and ignore him completely for the first half, Robert gives up and goes back to his study to work on his next corporate miracle. He could go to the pub or something, enjoy his Saturday night now that Aaron is back where he belongs, but whenever he and Aaron are in the middle of something they haven't managed to figure out fully, it makes his skin itch, sets his teeth on edge. Work is the best kind of distraction. 

It's dark out by the time Robert hears the front door, and he hopes it was only Adam leaving. When nothing else happens, he worries that maybe Aaron left, too, and types up nonsensical business notes just to keep himself from getting up to check. A little later, however, Aaron knocks softly on the door before opening it and leaning on the doorframe. He's got two mugs in his hands and he offers one to Robert. 

"Cheers," Robert says as he accepts the hot mug of tea. Automatically, his eyes scan over Aaron from head to toe, making sure he's alright and casually checking him out at the same time. 

"You got the window fixed," Aaron says, already a prelude to an apology. "That was fast."

Robert grins, casual, light, charming. He's been preparing to apologise, but this is even better. He sets the mug down on his desk. "Had to call in a lot of favours." 

"Cheers for sorting it," Aaron says, swaying on his feet, hesitant. He dips his head. "And I'm sorry. For this morning." 

In all honesty, this is Robert's favourite version of Aaron. Vulnerable; soft. Rueful. Easy to love. Easy to manipulate.

Robert has sworn he's never going to manipulate Aaron again. He's sworn it to himself, he's sworn it to Aaron, he's sworn it to Chas, he's sworn it to Adam. He thinks he's sworn it to every Dingle and Barton under the sun. It's all the same, really; unbeknownst to everyone but Robert, he lost his ability to manipulate Aaron years ago. 

Which is why Robert feels no remorse when he pushes his chair back so he's facing Aaron, lets his legs fall into an inviting v, and turns on the charm. "Yeah?" he says, flirtatiously looking Aaron up and down. "You could make it up to me." 

Robert still has charm on his side, but everything else in his repertoire – manipulation, emotional blackmail, actual blackmail, bribery, the list goes on – is like white noise to Aaron. It's like Aaron can see right through Robert's bullshit and choose to take it or leave it. No one else in Robert's life has ever had that kind of power. 

It's how Robert knows Aaron loves him genuinely: he can't trick Aaron into it. 

Like now. Aaron knows exactly what Robert is doing, what he's trying to do, and could easily walk away. When Aaron sets his mug on the shelf next to him and steps forward, it's because he chooses to accept it; chooses to like it. "And... how exactly would I do that?" Aaron says, glancing at Robert through his lashes; coy. 

It's irresistible. Strong, combative, infuriating Aaron looking young and innocent, eyes cast downwards, his wet bottom lip forming the tiniest pout. 

"Come here," Robert says, but before Aaron has a chance to move, Robert is up from his chair and halfway across the room. He wraps his arms around Aaron, breathes in his scent and kisses him. It's the smell of sweat and the taste of beer, stubble rough against his lips and face; it's something he never imagined he would enjoy but now craves, desires. 

Aaron slips his hands into Robert's back pockets and squeezes, strong and suggestive and hot. Their bodies are pressed firmly together all the way. Robert fists his hands in Aaron's shirt. "We should take this upstairs," he says against Aaron's lips. 

"Yeah," Aaron says, but stops in the next moment, pulling his hands out from Robert's pockets and putting one of them on Robert's chest, holding him back. 

"What?" Robert says, fighting his impatience. He lets his hands settle on Aaron's hips. 

"Nothing like this will ever happen again, right?" Aaron says. "No more smashed windows... no graffiti on our walls... no dead birds on our doorstep..." 

Robert grins. "Nothing like this will happen again," he says. "I promise." 

He has no business making any such promises. In other words, it is a lie. 

Aaron hesitates before smiling and leans in to kiss Robert. They pick up right where they left off, taking off each other's shirts and giggling into each other's mouths before heading upstairs. 

Robert knows it's a lie, but so does Aaron. By accepting it, Aaron isn't buying into it. He just trusts Robert to take care of it. 

They fall into bed, graceful after years of practice. Tonight, Aaron is pliant and playful; yet another version of him that Robert loves. It took them a long time to rebuild the trust that Robert so spectacularly shattered, early on, and now that things are good, _so good_ , Robert has no intention of ever letting Aaron down again. 

Robert will take care of it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ended up being twice as long as planned - because Robert just would not shut up. There should only be one more chapter.
> 
> All kinds of feedback is loved and adored. Or, hey, if you have writing prompts, hit me with them. Those are always fun.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

On Monday morning, when Robert needs to get to Leeds for a business meeting, he finds that someone has keyed his car. There are several long scratches on the driver's side, distinctive on the shiny surface. 

Robert sighs, rolls his eyes, and drives to Leeds. When he gets back, he heads straight to the garage. 

"Someone clearly doesn't like you," says Cain, eyeing the damage. He seems pleased. Pillock.

"Yeah," Robert says. "I'm sure that doesn't surprise you." 

"I am surprised that you're not kicking off about it and blaming everyone around you," Cain says, always too quick to get to the bottom of things. He stands up, leans on the car, and gives Robert a long look, gauging him. "You must know who did it."

"Well, I know it wasn't you," Robert says, raising his chin, all bravado. It's always bravado with Cain. "You and I are friends now, remember?" 

It's the official story and he's sticking to it.

"Yeah," Cain says and looks at Robert like Robert has got all the infectious diseases in the world. "Friends." 

It's not a friendship, but it's a truce, forged time and again by Aaron. He's the only reason it sticks.

Cain turns back to the car, eyeing it with a remarkable lack of respect, as if he's as likely to fix it as he is to chop it up and sell it for parts. 

Robert is starting to lose his patience. "Look, can you do this or not?" 

"Probably. But it'll cost you." 

"Yes, fine." Robert wasn't expecting anything less. "And please – don't mention this to Aaron." 

It's always a gamble, asking the Dingles to keep something from Aaron. Sometimes they'll do as he asks. Usually they won't. He's never gone as far as asking them to lie. He doesn't need to be psychic to know how that would go. 

This time, he's in luck. Cain gives him another long look before breaking out a truly hideous smirk. "That'll cost you extra."

* * *

Liv is home when Robert gets there. She's curled up on the sofa with her phone in her hands like it's a physical extension of her, thumbs moving so fast they're blurry. 

"Hey," says Aaron, coming out from the kitchen when he hears Robert. "Didn’t think you’d be home until later." 

He seems pleased, a soft smile in the corners of his eyes. He doesn't try to come closer, though, doesn't try to touch.

Aaron acts differently when Liv is around. Robert supposes that's normal. At first he thought Aaron had two sets of house rules, somehow, one for when Liv was around and one for when she wasn't. In time he's come to realise that that's not the case. Aaron doesn't see it that way. His focus is just different when Liv is here. Robert has had to figure the lines out for himself, what kind of behaviour is acceptable and what isn't, and adjust accordingly. 

Sometimes it is a bit of a delicate dance, this domestic situation of theirs, but Robert wouldn't have it any other way. 

That's a lie; he'd actually be quite pleased to see the back of Liv if that didn't mean breaking Aaron's heart. They've had great times, the three of them, and she's a genuinely good kid, underneath it all. She's a younger version of Aaron, and Aaron has wanted to give her what people gave him when he was younger; love, support, and an unlimited amount of second chances. She's better for it. They all are. 

Even so, Robert already has a sister, and he wouldn't want her to stay with them permanently, either. 

"Yeah. Client was in a hurry." Robert's taken off his shoes and jacket, stands there looking at Aaron. They've never been big on kissing each other welcome or goodbye, and even now, face to face, Robert just raises his hand to the side Aaron's neck and squeezes affectionately. "All good here?" 

Aaron sways on his feet, glancing around the house and then up at Robert. "Yeah. All good." 

Robert brushes his hand against Aaron's arm as he walks past him into the living room, collapsing in a chair in the corner of the room. He’s tired; despite getting home earlier than he thought, he’s still had a long day. Aaron trails after him, hands in his pockets, and leans on the doorframe, watching the two of them. Liv doesn't even look up. 

"Hiya," Robert says to her. "Had a good weekend?" 

Liv looks up at the ceiling as if considering this. "Was alright," she says, turning her attention back to her phone. There's a hint of a blush on her cheeks. Robert thinks it's probably about a boy. He wonders if Aaron has noticed. 

"Must have been, since you already asked when you can go back," Aaron says from the doorway. He doesn't seem unhappy about it. 

"No," Liv says emphatically, like Aaron is performing some kind of character assassination and she needs to go to battle to defend herself. "I said it's my mum's birthday next weekend and I should be there for it."

"You've only been home for two hours," Aaron says, and there it is, the unhappiness, a tiny flash of it in the way he holds himself. 

"Yeah, and I'll be home all week. But it's not like anything happens here during the weekends, anyway." 

“You – no,” Aaron says. He takes a few steps forward and puts his hands on the back of the sofa, leaning on straight arms. “You’re not going.” He sounds incredulous, like he still can’t believe he’s the one making rules here. Like he doesn’t think Liv will do as he says.

It’s still not as strong a no as Robert would like, but Aaron has come a long way. Robert learned early on to butt out. He still tries not to take sides and talk to Aaron and Liv individually rather than together. Aaron can’t be Liv’s mate, but Robert could. He has tried, some. It hasn’t worked out. In effect, he is now some sort of step-dad or step-uncle, an unwanted and uninvited presence in Liv’s life and home. 

On paper, it is Robert’s home. But when he was looking for a place, he consciously chose one big enough for the three of them. He knew Aaron would never move in otherwise. 

“Why not?" Liv asks, a whiny note in her voice. "I just showed you I can go there for a weekend without missing college.” 

“But not _every_ weekend. It’s too far away. I’m sorry.” 

"But this place is so boring!"

And here they go again. It's a conversation Liv and Aaron have had so many times before and yet continue to have on a regular basis. Robert could probably cite both their lines from memory. 

"I know it's small, yeah," Aaron says. He leans down, moves so that he's got his elbows on the back of the couch, more on Liv's level. "But we can think of new things. You know you have so many people here who love you. You are one of us." 

If Aaron ever said the word, Robert would be ready to pack up his life and his business and move immediately to anywhere, preferably London. Best case scenario, a London-based firm would mean a lot less travelling in the long run, because there would be so many local businesses to focus on. In time, he might be able to stop with the international travelling completely – stay with Aaron every single night. 

All the reasons they're still here in Emmerdale are called either Dingle or Barton. With, Robert supposes, a Kirk thrown in the mix. 

Aaron doesn't want to go. He loves it here. It's the only place where he's ever belonged. 

Robert's never even brought it up. He's got Victoria here, and Diane. Even the Dingles are slowly starting to see him as some sort of adopted son, which, in all honestly, creeps the hell out of him. It's his home, too – his home is where Aaron is. 

"There's a whole world out there," Liv says, exasperated, like Aaron is dumb and ignorant. "Maybe you'll enjoy only seeing the same five faces every day for the rest of your life. That doesn't mean I should." She's got her hands crossed over her chest, now; her phone beeps in her armpit.

Robert runs his hand through his hair, watching them. Whether she knows it or not, Liv is trying to goad Aaron into saying that it was _her choice_ to stay here. Because once that is out there, once that's on the table, they can re-visit the idea and she can change her mind. Or at least they can talk about her maybe having changed her mind. It's what she wants, or what she thinks she wants. Like anyone her age, she wants out there where there's people, where there's opportunities. Dublin is so easy because her mum is already there. 

She doesn't want to be the one to bring it up. She doesn't want to say to Aaron's face, _I don't want to live with you anymore_. It probably wouldn't even be true. She does want to. She just wishes it was someplace else. Like London, or Paris, or New York. 

Aaron knows what a can of worms he would open up if he said it. He's resisted so far; he resists now. He bites on his lip before saying, "I know there's a whole world out there. I've seen some of it. And you'll get there, if that's what you want. When you're all grown up you can go wherever you want, live your life on the road if you like. But right now you're staying here." 

Usually, Robert tries to stay out of the sibling stuff, but sometimes he tries to offer compromises. It's what Chas does when she's in the room with them; she negotiates. She's never been any good at butting out, especially not in regards to Aaron. 

Robert says, "Maybe you could go stay with your mum in the summer." 

The end of the semester is only a few weeks away. 

Aaron looks at him, nods. He says to Liv, "Yeah, could do, if it's alright with your mum. A couple of weeks?" He doesn't mind Robert taking part. He probably wishes Robert did it more. They'd be stronger against her, united together, but in his heart, Aaron must know this is for the best – Liv has had enough things and people against her in her life already. 

Liv's eyes are narrowed, but it's not suspicious; it's careful, like she's trying to hold back. "How about the whole summer?" she says slowly.

"I – I," Aaron says, blinking rapidly. He's so used to this conversation going the same way every time that now that there's a deviation from the norm, he's caught utterly off-guard. He makes brief eye contact with Robert, who tries to keep his face blank.

"It would do me good," Liv presses. "Teenagers aren't supposed to spend their entire lives in villages where the population is, like, ten."

Aaron looks frozen in place, like he's praying internally for the ground to swallow him or a UFO to beam him up; anything to get out of this conversation, now. He looks terrified. "I... We'd need to talk to your mum." 

It's so quick a forfeit that Robert, scratching his forehead as an excuse to hide his eyes, knows Aaron doesn't really mean to do it. Aaron was put on the spot, startled into the situation, and he can't think fast enough to find a logical reason to tell her no. That's Aaron. When he can't think of a good enough reason not to, he'll let Liv do anything, no matter how bad it makes him feel. 

Liv knows all of this. Instead of giving Aaron any kind of chance to back out or reconsider his words, Liv sits up straight and careful and says, "Yes. She'll be happy to have me. She will." She looks earnest and pleading, like Aaron is dangling the whole world in front of her and she's silently asking him not to yank it away. 

Unsurprisingly, Aaron has gone all soft on her. He hangs his head. "Yeah," he says eventually, and when he looks up, he looks teary-eyed. "Of course. If that's what you want." He shrugs and looks up, blinking. "We'll talk to Sandra." 

Liv is off the sofa and wrapped around Aaron in a second. "Thank you," she's saying. "You're the best brother ever."

Aaron pets her hair, his big hands clumsy on the back of her head, and smiles through his tears before closing his eyes. 

Quietly, Robert gets up from his chair, says something about tea and leaves the room. He doesn't take part in the fights; he shouldn't take part in this, either.

* * *

By the end of the week, someone has gone through a whole world of trouble to smear Robert's business across all possible channels on the internet, including message boards and social media. It is laughable in its transparency, clearly the work of an irked individual rather than a horde of actual clients and business partners. Robert deletes what he can, which is mostly spam across his social media accounts, and sends messages to some site administrators pointing out the ridiculousness and asking for the messages to be removed. 

It'll blow over in any case. The few messages here and there will eventually be buried in the dark pits of the internet. No one in this day and age really bothers to care. 

It is a final straw, however. 

The only reason he was bothered about the rock through their window was because Aaron was bothered about it; in all honesty, the instance didn't shake him or throw him off his game. The car, on the other hand, was highly annoying yet easy to fix. But this, this is an attack on his business, his livelihood, his still precarious position in the world. 

The stuff with the window and the car were easy to ignore because Robert figured it would blow over soon enough. This smear campaign, here, proves it's gone on for too long. If it's not dying down on its own, Robert will put an end to it. 

He sits at his desk in his study, and despite the fact that Aaron's left for work and Liv's left for college, he stays silent for a moment, listening. Satisfied when he hears nothing, Robert pulls out his phone and selects Terry Weiss's number. 

"Terry?" Robert says when someone picks up. "It's Robert Sugden." 

"Sugden," says a man and clears his throat. It could be a greeting, but coming from him, it sounds more like a swearword. "What do you want?"

"Just to talk. How is it going?"

"Fine," Weiss says, clearly impatient. "Why are you calling me?"

"Calm down. I have good news." 

Weiss hesitates, making a soft growling noise. "You have cancer and the doctors have given you two weeks to live? That would be good news."

Terry Weiss is one of those men who understand business very poorly and don't even realise it. He thinks he can do no wrong and blames others for his misfortunes, even though most of his misfortunes are all down to him. Robert despises men like that. If you have an ego, you better be able to back it up with something of value. Arrogance has to be earned. 

"Oh, _Terry_ ," Robert says, saccharine-sweet, like he's just been given a huge compliment. "Not that, I'm afraid. But you've been causing me some trouble."

"Have I now?"

"Yes. The internet prank, scratching my car... you also threw a rock through my window, though I'm not sure you remember that part – you seemed pretty drunk at the time." 

"Mm. I don't remember any of that," Weiss says; not a denial.

"I'm calling to offer you a deal. You still want to run your business successfully? I can help you with that."

"Are you serious?" Weiss says.

"I've already identified some key areas that you need to focus on to improve your profitability," Robert says. The paperwork is right in front of him. This wasn't even a difficult case. 

"You want me to work with you? After all you did?" 

"You stop with the little pranks," Robert says, "and I'll help you build a successful company. It's a win-win situation. We can negotiate it so that you don't have to pay me until you're in the black."

"You – you," Weiss says, his ire clear in his voice. "You are the biggest scum on this earth. You're a megalomaniac who –"

"Is that a no? Because if that's a no, I might have to make this police business." 

"Oh, it's a no, alright. You're not getting rid of me this easily." 

"You'd rather be wanted by the police than let me help you with your business," Robert says, not entirely surprised. 

"What is the police going to do? I haven't done anything," Weiss says in a monotone that lacks credibility. Lowering his voice, he adds, "Mark my words, Sugden. You're not getting off the hook so easily. I'll be coming after you."

Robert blinks, half-incredulous, half-entertained. "Is that a threat?" 

It's kind of like being threatened by a mouse – one that's lived in an aquarium its entire life and has few survival skills out in the wild. 

"Of course it's not a threat," Weiss says. "I'm not making any threats. How did the boyfriend like the smashed window, by the way?" 

"Excuse me?"

"You said someone threw a rock through your window? How did your boyfriend take it?" 

The mouse suddenly grows twenty times bigger and starts sprouting huge teeth and claws.

Robert sits on the edge of his chair, back straight, phone held at the ear by a rigid hand. He keeps his voice jovial and says, "I'm not letting you change the subject. I'll go to the police next. All this stuff has been a minor inconvenience, but it is still illegal." 

"You do that. And say hi to the boyfriend."

The line goes dead.

Slowly, Robert sets his phone down on his desk. He shouldn't be surprised; his perceived homosexuality is hardly a secret around here. It doesn't take a whole lot of digging to find out who he lives with and why. 

Terry Weiss is not the kind of man you need to watch out for. Annoying, yes. Terrifying, hardly. 

Robert just doesn't want anyone annoying Aaron.

* * *

It quietens down after that. Robert is watchful for anything out of the ordinary, but there is nothing – no destroyed property, no trouble with his business, no inconveniences. At work, Robert's biggest annoyance are clients not paying their bills on time, and at home, it's Aaron's disappointed mood after each fight with Liv. It's not perfect, but it's good. It's normal. 

"A whole week, eh?" Aaron says, leaning on the wall with his hands in his armpits, looking adorably scruffy in pyjama pants and a t-shirt, feet bare. He hasn't even combed his hair yet. "You're never gone a whole week. I think you're just trying to get rid of me." He's smiling, but it looks melancholy. 

Robert finishes putting his shoes on and stands up. He raises a hand to the back of Aaron's neck, squeezes it. "I'll be back before you know it. And, this way you get to spend the whole week with Liv before she leaves for the summer. You can do whatever it is you two deviants usually get up to when I'm not around."

"You're not leaving because of that, though, are you?" There's a panicky note in Aaron's voice. Even after all this time, he's still not convinced, still not secure and restful in his position. 

Robert uses his grip on the back of Aaron's neck to force them into eye contact. "Hey. That's not it at all. I just have business in Germany. I'll be in meetings all day every day and attending hatefully boring evening galas every night just to meet more people. But I promise you, it'll be worth it. The money will be worth it, in the long run."

Liv interrupts them as she wanders down the stairs, yawning. Her ponytail looks messy and the look in her eyes is still sleepy. He squints at Robert, coming to a stop at the foot of the stairs. "Where are you going?" 

"Frankfurt." Robert backs away from Aaron and grins at her, a little. "For a week. Is this ringing any bells?" 

Liv yawns again. When Aaron stands up straighter and holds out his arm, she goes to him and lets him wrap his arm around her. She leans her head on his shoulder and he rubs her arm. They're picturesque, standing there in the morning light: a more beautiful sight than any that Robert can hope to see on his travels. 

"Maybe," she says and rubs at her face. 

"Try to keep your brother out of trouble," Robert says. 

"No promises," she says and gives him an unexpected flash of a grin. 

It's better like this. It's better to leave when she is here. Robert hates the idea of Aaron on his own even if both Chas and Adam are just a stone's throw away. 

"Bring me something," Liv says, like usual. 

"I'll see what I can do," Robert promises. He pulls on his leather jacket and toys with the sleeves for a moment. When he's stalled all he can and he really should start to get going, he takes an hesitant step closer to Aaron and Liv. Aaron usually shies away from any kind of intimacy when Liv is nearby, but Robert is leaving for a whole week and he'll be damned if he doesn't at least get a peck on the cheek. He leans in, gives Aaron a quick kiss on the mouth and, pulling away, ruffles Liv's hair further. She squeaks, ducks out from beneath Aaron's arm, and disappears into the kitchen with a hollered, "Bye!" 

Robert smiles at Aaron, picks up his bag, and opens the front door. He's already out on the top step, when Aaron appears at his side, tugging at his sleeve.

"You know I don't want the money," Aaron says. 

It's such an Aaron thing to say. Robert can't help but grin. "I know. Or do you mean you'd rather I stay?" 

Aaron has never asked Robert to stay. Robert isn't sure what he would do if Aaron ever did. 

He'd probably stay.

"No," Aaron says, but frowns afterwards. "I mean, yes. But if you want to go, if you think it's important, then you should go. I just – I don't care about money." 

Robert drops his bag at his feet and turns around to face Aaron fully. He takes Aaron's face between his hands. "I know that. The money is just a bonus, I swear. I just want my business to do well." He gives Aaron another quick kiss. "Trust me. This will be okay." 

"I do," Aaron says. "I trust you."

The fact that they've been doing this for years, building a life together in this house that Robert got for them, does nothing to soften the reaction that Robert still has to all of these little admissions from Aaron. Whether it's _I trust you_ or _I want to be with you_ or the rare _I love you_ , it always manages to knock the air out of Robert's lungs. He wants nothing more than to stay, right now. 

They kiss, and it's nothing like the quick pecks before; this kiss is open-mouthed and hot, already yearning. Aaron's fingers curl against the leather of Robert's jacket. 

The sound of high heels clacking against the pavement forces Robert to pull away. Aaron's mouth is wet and soft-looking, and Robert licks his own lips to catch the last traces of its taste. When Robert looks over his shoulder to see who it is that's come to disturb their moment, he sees Chas standing by his car, her hands in the pockets of her jacket, her neck craned as if she's trying to get a good look. 

Aaron looks resolutely away. 

Sighing, Robert lets go of him. "I'll be home before you know it, yeah?" he says, low, for Aaron's ears only. "Call me if you need me." 

"Yeah, yeah," Aaron says and meets Robert's eye for a fraction of a second. "Have a good trip."

"Hiya, love," Chas calls, clearly hoping to catch Aaron's eye for herself, but Aaron, embarrassed as per usual to be caught necking with Robert where other people can see, pulls back into the house and closes the door after him. Chas sighs. "Well, that's my son, always so pleased to see me. Where are you off to?" 

Robert picks up his bag and comes to the car. Chas is eyeing him with some curiosity but Robert only needs to take one look to figure her out: she's out early, walking towards the pub, in messy make-up and what look like party clothes. It's a walk of shame. 

He doesn't need to call her on it. 

"Work trip," he says, opening the boot and throwing in his bag. "Frankfurt, Germany." 

"Oh, sounds nice," Chas says. "Will you be gone long?" 

"A week. Why don't you invite Aaron and Liv over for tea sometime while I'm not here?" 

"Yeah," Chas says, pleased. "That sounds like a great idea." 

Of course she'd think it's a great idea; this way, she gets to spend time with her son without having to put up with the son-in-law. 

Robert puts the thought out of his head. He's just annoyed Chas interrupted them. He's got nothing against her, honestly. They get along just fine these days. She wants what's best for Aaron; he wants what's best for Aaron. As it happens, Aaron wants them both in his life, and they've made their peace with that. They would both do anything for him. They've got that in common, and it's enough to forge a strong, if unexpected, bond. 

"Think he'll answer the door if I go see him right now?" Chas says. 

"He will," Robert says, getting into his car. After all, Liv is there too. Aaron can't full well set the example that it's okay to avoid one's parents and guardians. Robert closes the car door but rolls down the window. When Chas comes closer, he says, "Keep an eye on him, will you? And... give me a call if anything happens." 

"If anything happens," Chas repeats, eyes narrowing. "Like what, exactly?" 

"I don't know. If he falls down the stairs and sprains a finger. Anything. Especially if he thinks it's not important enough to bother me with. You know how he gets." 

Chas tilts her head in acknowledgement. "Yeah, alright." 

Robert releases a breath. It's like tension that he wasn't even aware of melts away, a little. Chas is like a lioness when it comes to her cub. 

Maybe all those thoughts about moving to London are crazy. Maybe they are based on some half-arsed dream that could never come true. If Robert is this anxious about leaving Aaron alone in _Emmerdale_ , where every single neighbour they have for miles and miles is an ally, how would Robert ever be able to keep his wits about him if he had to leave Aaron alone in a big city even for a day? 

This thing with Terry Weiss has really got to him, and he's not even sure why. It was fine until – until Weiss brought up _boyfriend_. 

There aren't a whole lot of things in this world that Robert is willing to fight for, but Aaron is right at the top of the list. 

Chas must see something in Robert's expression, because hers softens considerably. "I'll take care of him, I promise. I don't like seeing him alone or hurt anymore than you do. He'll be fine. They both will." 

Robert could brush it off, downplay it, scoff and say he's not worried. Instead, he meets Chas's eye and says, "Thank you." 

Chas smiles at him, even offers a little wave. "Go on, then, you. Wouldn't want you to miss your flight." 

Sighing, Robert looks away. He nods, determined, and starts the car. When he drives away, he can see Chas in his rear-view mirror as she makes her way towards their door. 

Aaron has half the village. He will be fine.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me introduce you to the Robert in my head: This is Robert. He will not shut up.
> 
> I was tempted to post this chapter in two parts - it ended up being almost 7000 words long, wtf - but I figured it's best if I try to keep my promises. So, this fic is finished now, but if inspiration strikes, I might add to the 'verse later on. 
> 
> As always, if you spot any mistakes or have anything at all to say, please let me know. :)
> 
> I hope this was worth the wait. Enjoy!

Investment bankers. God. 

Endlessly bored with the discussion about higher inflation in the US calling for a rate hike by the Feds, Robert makes his excuses and pulls away from the group, smiling politely as he goes. He dodges a few people and avoids someone trying to catch his eye, making it through the room and stepping onto the balcony. It's quieter there; it's windy. Robert walks over to the railing and leans on in, running a hand over his face in a gentle rub. He feels like he needs a week of sleep. He's had three glasses of wine all night: not enough to get him drunk but enough for a headache. 

Below him, the city is beautifully lit in the dimness of a June night. The office spaces where the afterparty is taking space are right at the top of a skyscraper. Frankfurt, known as a thriving business capital, has one of the most beautiful skylines in all of Europe. He stands there, right in the middle of that skyline, breathing in the chilly air. He's where he's always wanted to be, at the heart of the action. Speaking to all the right people.

Ten years ago he would have given anything – he would have sold his soul or cut off his leg or committed murder – to be where he is now. Ten years ago he was in bed at home or in bed with the wrong person or out and about causing trouble for himself and others, feeling like every single moment he spent in that life he was missing out. This, here, the handshakes and PowerPoint presentations on sustainable company growth and buffet tables and fancy office spaces, this was the life he was born for. He knew it back then.

His bed at home must be inviting right now, already warmed by Aaron's presence in it. Aaron with soft skin and sleepy eyes, the way he'd roll over and squint accusingly if Robert was to wake him now... the way he'd let Robert climb into bed and hold him, the way they'd fall asleep touching each other. 

Ten years is long enough to change nearly everything. 

Intending to send Aaron some sort of good night message, Robert pulls out his phone, surprised to see there are missed calls and texts. He's been so busy he hasn't felt the phone vibrate. 

It gets worse: there are three missed calls from Aaron. He never calls more than once; he prefers to wait for Robert to ring him back. Sometimes he'll send a text, too, to let Robert know why he's tried to call, but the text Robert has received now only says: _Call me_.

Robert glances around to make sure no one is listening. There are other people on the balcony, but they are mostly huddled up in pairs, drinking wine and smiling at each other, oblivious to everyone else. Hoping the sharp wind won't be a problem, Robert rings Aaron. 

"What's going on?" Robert says, right away, when Aaron picks up on the third ring. 

"Why are you ringing me so late? You should be in bed." Aaron doesn't sound like he was asleep. Quite the opposite: he sounds wound up. 

"There was a party and an afterparty," Robert says. It's a motto in the business world: work hard and party harder. "Besides, you told me to ring. What's going on? Tell me." 

"Really, it's nothing. I sent Liv to go stay with Sandra."

"Already? Semester's not over yet. What happened? Did you have a row?" 

"No – well, sort of. But that was after. No, someone followed her on her way home. Proper stalker. Some bloke in a hoodie. Tried to grab her, too, but she got away." 

"Is she – is she alright?" Robert asks, though what he really means is, _are you alright?_

"Yeah, fine. Sounded like he was trying to scare her more than anything. Anyway, I thought she'd be better off in Dublin for now." 

"She'll be alright there," Robert says, trying to sound convincing. He knows Aaron well enough to know Aaron must be second-guessing himself. 

In the background, Robert can hear Chas's voice saying his name. She sounds soft, like maybe she's hoping for an affirmative, and after an indistinct answer from Aaron, Robert thinks he can hear her high-heeled footsteps fade away. 

"Was that Chas? Is she with you?" Robert asks just to keep Aaron talking. 

"Yeah, I'm – I'm at the pub." 

Robert waits for elaboration that doesn't come. "And?" 

"And I'm sleeping here tonight. On the sofa." 

"Alright." This is one of the reasons Robert prefers to have Liv home when he isn't: Aaron can't go gallivanting around the world if he has his sister to look after. If Liv is there, Aaron is there. That way Robert knows where he is. "Is it the house? You don't want to be there alone?" 

Robert loves their house to bits. He chose it, he bought it, he helped Aaron and Adam renovate it. He's lived in a lot of places in his life, but none of them have felt like home the way their house does. He thinks it must be the same for Aaron, who, prior to moving in, spent the happiest years of his life living above a pub with his mother – or possibly in France with another bloke, but Robert doesn't like to think about that. 

The tap in the kitchen drips when the dishwasher is on, his study gets hot in the summer, and the yard isn't really convenient for that dog they always talk about, but Robert loves it. He doesn't even mind the way the small hallway gets cluttered with shoes and hi-vis vests and he's never said anything about Liv putting posters over every square inch of the walls in her room. Robert thinks it must be the same for Aaron, who actually cares enough to fix things up a little – the tap was dripping constantly, before – but maybe he's wrong. No matter how well Robert thinks he knows Aaron, there are always times when Aaron does something that will only make sense in retrospect. 

"That's not it," Aaron says. "My mum... she..." 

There is a tremor in Aaron's voice, like he's got something on the tip of his tongue that he doesn't want to say out loud. Robert listens to it carefully, wonders if Aaron is close to tears. Wonders if he's been crying, on and off, for hours. It makes Robert's teeth hurt. 

"What?" Robert says, emphatic, when Aaron just stutters. "Is she alright?" As Robert speaks, it all clicks into place. He stares at the city below him with eyes that only see puzzle pieces. The pieces fall reluctantly into place to form a picture he doesn't want to see. 

"She got this letter, and... she got this letter, right, and it's a... it's a death threat." 

There's only one thing Robert can say to that: "I'm coming home."

"No," Aaron sighs. "Don't cut your trip short. You're not supposed to be home for another two days." 

"Have you gone to the police?"

"Yeah, Mum did, but you know what it's like. Could be anyone. But there's really nothing to worry about. It's a prank, isn't it?" 

"Of course it is," Robert says.

That's both Liv and Chas targeted on the same day. It's not a prank. 

"Yeah. So I'm going to stay here tonight, but that's just... well, like you said, empty house. Might as well, eh?" Aaron says. 

It's likely that Aaron is more freaked out than Chas is. Still, it'll probably make them both feel better if he's there tonight. Them both – and Cain. "What did Cain say?" 

Chas and Cain are thick as thieves these days, the type of dynamic duo that spreads dread in the hearts of innocent people. Just seeing them together talking makes most people turn around on their heels and run for the hills. There's no way Cain hasn't heard about this yet. 

Robert is so lucky both Chas and Cain dote on Aaron. It's the only thing keeping Robert off their shit list and out of the line of fire. 

"That it's a prank." 

"Of course it is." There's no real danger. If you're going to kill someone, the last thing you do is send them a note so they can prepare to fight you off. Aaron doesn't need to worry about it. "I'm coming home."

"What about your meetings?" 

"I'll reschedule." Or not. Sounds like Robert needs to get some new clients, anyway. 

"I can handle this," Aaron says, gruff and forceful, but it's not a no. 

"I know." 

The wind is even stronger now, messing up Robert's hair and making his eyes water. He welcomes the cold; it keeps him calm. His got one hand squeezed around the top of the railing. Frankfurt below him looks beautiful, but this is not where he needs to be. Being here, now, he's missing out. His life is happening somewhere else. 

He needs to go to the hotel and pack his things. The ride to the airport shouldn't take long at this hour; there's little traffic even on the Autobahn. He doesn't know when the next flight to the UK is, but Frankfurt International is a huge airport and flights to London depart almost hourly during the day. The flight itself will take less than two hours. 

"Listen, I don't know when the next flight will be," Robert says, "but I'll check when I get off the phone. In any case, I should be there in the morning." The time difference, minus one hour, should also help with that. 

"You really don't have to. You know I hate it when you change your plans because of me." 

"Yeah, well, I love it. I love changing my plans because of you." 

Sometimes Aaron still gets overwhelmed when Robert says these things to him, so it's always a gamble. This time it pays off, because Aaron is silent for a moment before saying, "Alright. Sounds good. I'll see you in the morning, then."

* * *

When Robert gets to the airport, there isn't a flight to the UK for another two hours, so he dozes off near the gate, sitting up, his carry-on tucked between his knees. Right before it's time to board, he gets an overpriced coffee to stay awake long enough to get to his seat. When he's finally on the plane and everything is ready, they are delayed by the weather or stupid passengers or missing crewmembers or flying pigs. Robert doesn't know what it is and he doesn't care. The plane is already moving, taxiing comfortably away, when they suddenly turn back and return to the gate.

Robert fastens his safety belt, puts in some earplugs, and keeps his eyes stubbornly closed in an effort to fall asleep. 

When he wakes up, they're circling above Heathrow, waiting for other planes to land first. He looks at his watch and sighs, tired and impatient and delayed. Once he's on the ground, fetching his bag takes forever – he has his laptop in his carry-on; there wasn't enough room for a week's worth of clothes without checking in a bag – and getting out of London is a _mission_. 

It's already noon before Robert is anywhere near Emmerdale. He does what he can on the road, placing phone call and making inquiries. He gathers data and toys with different ideas. He's going to need a plan. 

Their house looks sturdy and safe when Robert gets there. It's welcoming. He gets in, drops his bags at his feet, but when he calls out for Aaron, there is no response. Robert is sleep-deprived and sweaty from his travels, wearing last night's wrinkled suit, tie in his pocket and the top buttons of his shirt undone. His hair, at least, and looks artfully tousled instead of messy, so there is that. It doesn't help much, because the eyes staring back at him from the mirror in the hallway look exhausted. 

He doesn't have time for exhaustion. 

Not bothering to change, Robert goes to the pub. Behind the bar, Chas perks up when she sees him.

"Hiya," she says, smiling. "He's in the back." 

Robert nods his thanks, heading for the door, but Chas holds out her hand to stop him, saying, "Thank you. For coming home early." 

What is this? Again? Aren't they past all of this already? "Of course I did," Robert says. There's no question about it. As an afterthought, he asks, "Are you alright?"

"Ha, yes, I'm fine. Never better. He, though..." 

That is the kind of talk Robert never ever wants to hear from Chas's mouth. "What?" 

"He pretends the two things are not related, but Liv getting a stalker and me getting a death threat on the same day – I'm not stupid." 

"I know that."

"Is he in trouble?" 

Robert hesitates, wants to deny all knowledge, but Chas is looking at him with those narrowed eyes, like she's still not convinced he isn't something the cat dragged in. Like she's still not convinced he's worthy of her son. Deciding Chas's trust is worth keeping even at a cost, he sighs and shakes his head. "No. He's not."

Chas's eyes are narrowed; it's a familiar look. She knows him well enough not to trust every word out of his mouth. "Is he in danger?" 

"No."

"Am I in danger?" 

"No," Robert says and tries on a smile. "It was just a prank, I'm sure." 

"A prank," Chas repeats as if she's considering it. Then, sharp as a shark: "Are you in trouble?" 

This time, Robert at least has the decency to look contrite. "No. I'm not." 

"You will sort it, then, won't you?" 

"Yes." Robert holds his hands out in front of him, palms up. "He will be fine. I promise." 

Chas looks at him for a long time, but in the end, she nods. She knows him well enough to trust him with this, to trust him with Aaron. It's what counts. "Do you want a pint?" 

It's enough to surprise a genuine smile out of him. "Cheers, maybe later," he says, thinking a couple of drinks with Aaron might loosen them both up. Might do them both some good. He can't help but add, "Do I look that bad?"

Chas half-grins, half-grimaces, like she always does when she's looking for the polite thing to say. "You look like it's one of those days, love."

It's still refreshing. In the early days, she never bothered to be anything but spectacularly mean to him. 

Robert grins out of the corner of his mouth. "One of those days? I'm not sure it isn't still last night."

Chas snorts and cocks her head. "Go on, then. He's missed you." 

It's a hyperbole, perhaps, just Chas's way of speaking. Still, part of Robert wonders if it's true. Aaron never says it or lets on that he's missed Robert in any way. It's always Robert saying he's missed Aaron and Aaron changing the subject. Aaron doesn't even want to hear it. 

_I miss you_ is, in some ways, bigger and heavier than _I love you_. Loving is something that happens, a continuous fact, not something that can be turned on and off. Missing, on the other hand, comes and goes, and it implies a need, a dependency: _I feel better when you're here_. Missing is something you force on people when you're not there.

Even now, after all these years, Aaron struggles fiercely to remain independent. He loves Robert and they both know it; they both feel it. But missing Robert is something Aaron never talks about, something he'd never admit to. It would put him at too great a disadvantage.

To this day, Aaron struggles to make sure Robert doesn't have a hold over him. While Robert respects that about him, it also makes Robert want to punch things.

In the backroom, Aaron is sitting on the sofa with his feet on the table, watching telly, when Robert comes in. Aaron's entire presence lights up when he sees Robert, and it's the most beautiful thing Robert has seen in what feels like weeks. Aaron, with hope in his eyes, eyebrows high on his forehead, expression open, mouth curling into a small smile. 

"You're home," Aaron says, getting up from the sofa. He trails over to Robert but stops at an arm's length. 

"Technically, we're at the pub," Robert says, closing the door behind him. He sways on his feet gently before reaching out, grabbing hold of the front of Aaron's hoodie and tugging on it. Aaron puts up a token resistance before giving in and stepping forward, right into Robert's arms. They stand there, arms around each other, swaying. Robert presses his face against the side of Aaron's neck and breathes in, eyes closed. 

"I saw Chas," Robert says when Aaron pulls away. "She seems alright. Have you heard from Liv?" 

"Got a text saying she's safe and sound in Dublin." 

"Good." Robert nods, his hands on Aaron's elbows, looking at him up and down. "How are you? Did you get any sleep?" 

"I'm fine. Stop fussing," Aaron says, pausing to take a good look at Robert. "Did _you_ get any sleep?"

"Yes, I did." When Aaron refuses to look away, Robert relents, nodding his head. "A little, at the airport and on the plane." 

Aaron grabs him by the elbow. "Come on. Let's get you home."

"Actually, maybe we could get lunch here at the pub, first? I haven't eaten anything all day."

"Yeah, sure, of course." 

"You don't have to go to the scrapyard today, do you?" 

"Nah, took the day off, didn't I? Adam's got it covered."

"Good."

Actually, come to think of it, it's not good. Scrapyard, together with Adam, is the third and final place where Aaron is vulnerable. Robert should have thought of it earlier. On the other hand, Adam is a big bloke, not as easy a target as a college girl or a barkeep. A coward wouldn't have the courage to go against Adam, especially if there was any chance Aaron might be in the vicinity, too. That must be why they approached Liv on her way home and Chas through a letter: so that Aaron wouldn't be there to stop it. 

"There hasn't been any more trouble, has there? Nothing out of the ordinary?" Robert says. "I mean, if it's an unlucky sort of day. No more notes or stalkers, no black cats crossing the road... no trouble at the scrapyard...?" 

Aaron's eyes move before locking onto Robert's. "I did have trouble finding a pair of matching socks." 

God, Robert loves him. 

Squeezing Aaron's arm, Robert says, "Why don't you go tell Marlon to make us something to eat, yeah? I just need to make a quick phone call." 

"It's a work call, right? You're not trying to play detective or anything, are you?"

"It's a work call." This whole thing is technically work-related, so it's not really a lie. "I'll be right behind you. Five minutes." 

Thankfully, Aaron goes without protest. After he's gone, Robert listens for anyone up in the bedrooms or coming down the stairs, but the only sounds he can hear are coming from the pub. Satisfied that he's alone, he takes out his phone and calls Adam. Just to be on the safe side.

* * *

It takes a week for Robert to set everything up. He isn't quite done yet – he'd prefer to have all the paperwork ready, to have every detail finished – but a week is all he's given before there's an incident at the scrapyard, just like he predicted.

Whether it's incidental or a calculated part of the plan, Robert doesn't know, but Aaron is out on a pick-up and Adam is at the scrapyard on his own. There is a smoke bomb hidden inside the engine of an old Ford and it blows up, right in Adam's face, like fireworks. Robert makes a series of angry phone calls and eventually traces the car back to Weiss's neighbour. 

Fucking Terry Weiss. 

It could have been bad. It's through a stroke of luck that all Adam is left with are red eyes and a cough that won't go away. 

"Don't tell Aaron, okay?" Robert says.

Adam, sitting down in front of the portacabin, raises his head. He looks terrible, water running down his cheeks, like he's been crying his eyes out. "How am I going to explain this, then?" he asks, gesturing at his face. 

"Aaron has a right to know," says Vic loudly, rubbing Adam's back. Of course she's there. Robert can never keep her out of these things. 

"Aaron doesn't need the stress," Robert says. 

Adam coughs and struggles to speak. "How many times do I have to tell you? You can't decide what Aaron gets to know. It's not up to you." He's wheezing by the end of it. 

Vic shakes her head, pawing helplessly at Adam's shoulders. "We should get you to hospital." 

"Nah. I'll be fine."

Wordlessly, Vic offers him more water. 

"It was just last week Chas got a death threat," Robert insists. "I just don't want to upset Aaron again." 

"Hang on," Adam says, water bottle in hand. "You think this is all related." He looks at Robert, squinting in the bright light of the summer day. "Is he in trouble?" 

"No."

"But he is being targeted," says Vic, and then: "Are _you_ in trouble?"

Too smart, she is. 

"No," Robert says. "But someone else will be."

He gives up on trying to convince them to leave Aaron out of it and goes home. He should have nipped this one in the bud. It's escalated now to such levels that clearly, the next target might be Aaron himself. Robert is not risking that. 

In the stillness and silence of his study, Robert gathers all the relevant paperwork in front of him and looks through everything one more time. It's not perfect, not fool-proof – he'd need more time for that. It shouldn't matter, really. He has more than enough. A little bit of bluff never goes amiss. 

He pulls his phone out of the pocket of his jeans and rings Terry Weiss. 

"Sugden," comes the greeting, spat out like it tastes bad. "What do you want?"

"Good afternoon, Terry. I'm sure you know what it is I want."

"Not a clue." 

"I got your present. It blew up in someone's face at Holey Scrap."

"Oh dear. Wasn't your boyfriend, was it?" 

Robert's blood turns hot. He holds onto the edge of his desk with his free hand to keep himself anchored in his seat. 

Aaron's already been a target. 

Robert has to take a deep breath before he can continue. "It wasn't, in fact. It was his business partner." His voice is steady. 

"Mm. Must piss you off, that he has partners other than you." 

The goading is so weak Robert barely hears it. He barely hears anything above the chants of _Aaron's already been a target_ ringing in his head. Reeling with anger, he gets back to the point. "I'm also ringing you to talk about our mutual acquaintances." 

"Didn't know we had any, apart from that CEO you convinced to bankrupt me."

That isn't how it went. The company didn't bankrupt Weiss; he did all that by himself by being a lazy entrepreneur who put all his eggs in one basket. Besides, it was the CFO who made the call based on Robert's recommendation. 

"That's because I've made new friends recently," Robert says. "Like your old accountant. Turns out she's really good at cheating when it comes to taxes. She always did your taxes by the book, though, didn't she?"

There's barely a beat of hesitation. "Yeah, of course. It doesn't matter, anyway. The company's bankrupt."

"There's still a difference between bankruptcy and prison time," Robert muses. "But it is good to hear that there is nothing to worry about."

"I'm sure you're thrilled. Was there something else, or did you just call to make vague threats about having someone go through my old books?"

"I'm not making any threats. In any case, thought you might be interested to know that I've been hired by this company that imports high-tech medical equipment. My job is to look at their business processes to make them more effective."

It's the client Robert spent the whole week chasing. The deal isn't finalised yet; there are no signatures, no black on white. So far, it's an oral agreement, made possible only by Robert's promise to lower his usual rates significantly. It's not fool-proof.

"Have you, now?" Weiss says, and there is more of an edge to his voice.

"Yeah. You probably guessed it already. It's the same company your wife works for. Isn't it a small world?" 

"Definitely," Weiss says, his voice turning careful. At least he's paying attention now. "What does this looking at business processes mean?"

"Usually, it means cutting out things that are no longer necessary. Things that can be done more effectively. In these situations, companies often end up investing in their IT processes. Sometimes we need to let a few people go, too. What does your wife do, again? Some kind of secretarial work?" 

"Mm," Weiss says, detached. 

"That's..." Robert grimaces even though Weiss can't see it. "I'm not going to lie to you, Terry. That might be bad. Machines can do so much of the secretarial work, these days." 

"What do you want, Sugden?" Weiss says, but his tone of voice is different now. It's not aggressive or impatient – it's co-operative. 

"Just to talk." Robert's free hand is still squeezing the edge of his desk so hard the knuckles look white. The grip is the only thing keeping him grounded and following the plan. The bastard targeted _Aaron_. Robert wishes he could morph into radio waves, send himself over to Weiss's phone, and strangle the man to death. With his bare hands. More than once. "A funny thing happened, by the way. Someone e-mailed me photos of your son. How old is he now? Sixteen?"

"What kind of photos?" 

"The kind where he is," Robert's voice drops to a whisper, "doing drugs." 

Weiss makes a gurgling noise, like maybe Robert's wish is somehow coming true and he's strangling Weiss from a distance through a from of telekinesis. 

He can picture it in his mind. He closes his eyes. Terry Weiss choking to death due to Robert's Force grip is such a beautiful image, it soothes something deep inside Robert. 

His voice carefully steady, Robert says, "I'm not sure what I should do with them. Should I send them to his school? Or the police, even? What do you think? He's been in trouble because of drugs before, hasn't he?" 

Most of it is bluff. The photos he has are actually from the school, from the time Weiss Jr. first got into trouble. They're dark and blurry, too, taken by one of Weiss Jr.'s drug-doing friends. Robert got them from a teacher who, after a very long phone call, fell for a sob story about Robert being Terry Weiss's brother-in-law and wanting to stage an intervention for the poor 16-year-old who was headed down the wrong path.

They might be of some interest to the police, if Robert manages to spin the story right. Might be enough to have Weiss Jr. brought in for questioning. Might serve as a scare.

"Please don't," Weiss says. "He's been through enough already."

"What do you suggest, then?" 

"I'm sorry. Alright? I'm sorry. I'll stop." 

"You'll stop what?"

"Everything. The scares, the threats, the bothers. I'll leave you alone." 

"It's not me I'm bothered about," Robert hisses, so aggressive all of a sudden it takes even him by surprise. It's like he's got venom in his veins. He lays his last card on the table. "Your daughter plays footie, doesn't she? What is she now, fourteen? I hear she's really good. Playing for the best team there is for someone her age."

"Please stop," Weiss says, his voice merely a whisper. 

"I've arranged a new sponsorship deal for her team. There's a lot of money in it. You know how much? So much that if your daughter's mum is unemployed, her dad is being investigated on the suspicion of tax fraud, and her big brother is a known drug addict, it might be in the best interest of the sponsor – my client – to ask that she be dismissed from the team or they'll pull the sponsorship. And I'll have to protect my client's best interest." 

"She loves football. She loves her team. She's so proud of being in it." There's a new edge to Weiss's voice, the kind of parental terror that creeps in when the child you love and want to protect is about to be hurt. Robert has heard it in Aaron's voice often enough to recognise it.

"It's not me I'm bothered about," Robert repeats. "I want you to stop, yes. But if I accidentally see you on the street, I'll be happy enough looking the other way. I can be the bigger man. If it was just me, we could walk away from this, both of us, like I said to you before." He pauses, considers the irony. "I would even have helped you." 

Contrary to popular belief, Robert doesn't actually enjoy torturing people or bringing them down. He would rather be doing anything else than having this conversation right now. He could be doing some actual work, or he could go see if Aaron is back at the scrapyard and lure him away on his break. Goddamn Weiss and his pig-headedness. Why didn't he just listen in the first place?

Weiss says, "I'm sorry. I'll do anything. Just leave my kids alone."

"Stay away from Aaron. Stay away from him, his mother, his sister, his business, everyone he knows and cares about. If there is any more trouble for him – and I mean it, any more trouble in any way – I will destroy you. If he can't find a pair of matching socks tomorrow morning I will bring down the house of cards you call a life." 

There's nothing on the line apart from some hitching breaths. If Weiss isn't crying yet, at least he's close to tears. 

"Aaron's got a really protective uncle, too. I haven't included him so far because, well, this was my mess to deal with, wasn't it? But if anything else happens, I'll let him help out. He's got a very different skill set, compared to me. He's a lot more – physical."

"It'll stop. All of it. Everything. It'll never happen again. I'll, I'll even apologise to, to Aaron." 

"Don't you say his name," Robert warns, and it's the kind of voice he's never heard come out of his own mouth before. It's like steel, or metal spikes, or the kind of poison that drifts down your throat on its own and kills you before you know what's happening.

"I'm sorry. Just please, don't hurt my family." Weiss sounds like he'd rather cut off his arm than keep having this conversation, but he's too scared to hang up. Rightfully so.

"If anything else happens, I will destroy you. And I will keep finding new ways to hurt you after that. Your petty little pranks are nothing compared to what I'm capable of. Do you understand?" 

"Yes," Weiss breathes. "God, yes, I understand."

"So do we have a deal? You disappear from my life and I won't destroy yours?"

"Definitely. Yes, definitely."

"Good," Robert says, falling back into his charm and making sure the smile is audible when he speaks. "We're all sorted then. Have a good day, and say hi to the family." He hangs up, stares at the phone, and squeezes it in his hand until he's afraid it might break. 

He's trembling all over. Slowly, he lets go of the edge of his desk, flexing his sore fingers. He considers going back on his promise and wrecking Weiss's life anyway – the bastard _targeted Aaron_ – but in the end, he decides against it. There is nothing more dangerous than a man who's got nothing left to lose. 

Trying to shake off the ickiness, Robert stands up. He definitely needs a break. Maybe Aaron is back from his travels and could use one too. Maybe they could both take the rest of the day off and go to bed very, very early. 

A man is at his most dangerous when he's got nothing left to lose. Aaron is making Robert weak.

Robert wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

Aaron refuses to co-operate with Robert's plan of taking the rest of the day off and spending it in bed, but later he does tuck himself against Robert's side when they sit on the sofa watching telly. Evenings are quieter without Liv around. For the first couple of days, the silence was clearly making Aaron uncomfortable, but now it's become soothing. It's just the two of them. It's never been just the two of them before, not for longer than a few days.

Unconcerned about what's going on in the movie, Robert leans his cheek against the top of Aaron's head and closes his eyes. Aaron is warm and heavy against his body. It's still a miracle, this, holding something so precious, holding another living, breathing human being, loving him from the bottom of Robert's heart. It's both the strongest and the most fragile thing Robert's ever experienced. 

"How was your day?" Robert asks just to hear Aaron's voice. His eyes are still closed.

"Was alright," Aaron says, taking a sip of his beer. He's had the same bottle in his hand since the movie started; it must be warm by now. "How was yours?" 

"I've had better days. Not complaining about the evening, though."

"What happened today, then?"

"Told someone I would have him investigated for tax fraud," Robert says. "Threatened to get someone's wife fired, threatened to get someone's son in trouble with the police, threatened to get someone's daughter thrown out of her footie team, threatened them all with violence..." 

"You what?" Aaron says, sitting up so he can look at Robert. 

Reluctantly, Robert opens his eyes when Aaron pulls away. He smiles. "Kidding." 

Aaron's eyes narrow, but he's half-smiling. "Why would you do that in any case? Sounds like a world of effort."

Lazily, Robert shrugs one shoulder and reaches for Aaron, trying to pull him back where he belongs. "If it was necessary, I would." 

"Does money really mean that much to you?"

Robert looks at him, can't help but smile. He shakes his head. "No." 

Still looking curious but unwilling to push it, Aaron lets himself be pulled back against Robert's side. "So what was so bad about today?"

"It wasn't so bad, really. I sorted something that I should have sorted a long time ago. It was a good day, really. Just a bit of a painful one." He rubs at Aaron's upper arm through the sleeve of the hoodie and squeezes his shoulder. "You've got nothing to worry about, alright?" 

Aaron tilts his head back and turns it so that he can look up at Robert. "Yeah?"

Chas probably didn't say anything, but even if Adam and Vic didn't, either, Aaron must have worked it out on his own. All this bother wasn't just a series of random incidents. Robert sighs. He'd rather Aaron stayed the hell away from all the trouble in the world. "Yeah. It's over." 

Adam and Vic must not have told Aaron how bad the smoke bomb was. If Aaron knew Adam could have lost his eyesight there would be hell to pay. And no one needs to ever know the bomb was intended for Aaron. That'll be Robert's secret, his shame, until the end of days.

"So was it that bloke you put out of business?" 

"Yeah. He's harmless. He's been annoying but harmless, and it's all over now." Robert bites his lip. "I'm sorry it went down like this. I'm sorry you got involved."

"Me? What are you talking about? Nothing's happened to me. It's all been Liv who lives with us, and the scrapyard that is your business, too, and my mum..."

Robert can tell the exact moment it clicks and regrets ever saying a word. Aaron's mouth works soundlessly for a moment before he finishes, "Well, she's my mum, isn't she?" He sounds hoarser than before. 

"Yeah. Your mum."

Thoughtful, Aaron settles back against Robert, turning his eyes to the television, probably mulling it all over in his head. Without saying anything, he finishes the beer and puts the empty bottle on the small table in front of them. 

"I'm sorry," Robert tries when Aaron's been sitting there quietly for a while, staring motionlessly at the TV. 

"Not your fault, is it?" The detachment is a cover.

"Well, no, but I should have put an end to it sooner. At first, he was just pestering me, so I thought... it wasn't so bad. I thought he'd get bored." 

"And you think he's bored now?"

"He..." Robert looks around the room, trying to find the right words. "He won't do anything any time soon. He's got too much to lose." 

"He came after me to get to you," Aaron says slowly.

"Yeah. I'm sorry." In Robert's experience, if he says it enough times, eventually Aaron will hear it. 

"You don't get it. He came after me to get to you, and it _worked_ ," Aaron says. 

"Of course it worked," Robert snaps, uncomfortable. He doesn't want his vulnerabilities prodded at, not even by Aaron.

"Am I your weak spot?" Aaron is pulling away again to look at Robert again, but the expression on his face is gleeful.

"No," Robert says, trying like hell to gather up all of his exposed weaknesses and hide them away in the most distant parts of his soul. No one needs to see them. Not even Aaron should be privy to them, laid out as they are right there in front of him. There must be another way to spin this, one where Aaron is not the one massive soft spot Robert has in his entire life. 

But Aaron looks at him, looks right through him, right into his soul, every last distant part of it. 

Robert says, "I called in favours, did research, got new clients, just to get this bloke off our backs. I would have done more, too. If it had been necessary." It's time for honesty again, time to open up and say one of those lines that Aaron might not want to hear, and Robert hates this part. "I'd do anything for you." 

This time, Aaron doesn't mind. "Yeah," he says, and his eyes shine: happy. 

"You're not my weakness," Robert says. "You're the thing that makes me strong." 

"You're a really difficult man to love, sometimes, Robert," Aaron says, but his eyes flicker downwards, glancing at Robert's lips. Despite the fact that Aaron does it all the time, it's still unclear to Robert if it's an intentional invitation or not. Whichever the case, it means Aaron wants Robert to kiss him. Aaron rarely initiates kisses, but he does the glancing thing, and it's just as well. It works, anyway. 

"I know," Robert says, lifting his hands up to the sides of Aaron's neck and kissing him, hard and hot and slow. 

Aaron breaks the kiss, but that's okay; his hands are busy already, unbuttoning Robert's shirt. There is a rosy red to his cheeks and a breathlessness to his voice. "This isn't one of those times." 

Robert grins, pleased, and starts tugging off Aaron's clothes. They have happy, giggly sex on the sofa that is too soft and too small for it but works well enough anyway, and the TV drones on in the background. Robert hears explosions when he comes. He's not sure if that's the telly or just noise in his head. 

Afterwards, they lie there together, Aaron on his back with one foot on the floor and Robert draped over him, head resting on the scars on Aaron's chest. They're hot and sticky and still giggly, and it's the best night Robert's had in weeks. 

"Next time," Aaron says, but there's laughter in his voice, "will you please not piss anyone off so badly they think it's a good idea to stalk my sister?" 

It's all Aaron's asking. He's not asking Robert to abandon the business or even change the way the business operates. He's just saying that being dragged into this has sucked and if there's anything Robert could do to stop it from happening it again, that would be great. 

Robert loves him so, so much.

"I'll try not to piss off anymore psychos," Robert says, because it's the most honest promise he can make.

Aaron nods against Robert's head and presses a kiss into his hair. To Aaron, it's a good enough answer, a good enough deal. 

It's good enough.

Robert closes his eyes, breathes in the sweaty sexy scent of Aaron's skin, listens to his heartbeat. The world around them is warm and safe and secure. Robert can lie here in this moment and relax. Aaron is safe. Aaron is happy.

Selling his soul, cutting off his leg, committing murder – there is nothing Robert wouldn't do to keep it that way.

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr [here](http://windire19.tumblr.com/), if you want to come say hi.


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